RE: Manpage interpreter

From: Scott Emerson Longley (emerson_at_WPI.EDU)
Date: 12/24/04

  • Next message: Sally Hines: "RE: Manpage interpreter" 
    Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 23:42:18 -0500 (EST)
To: Sally Hines <shines@smaller.net>

    On Thu, 23 Dec 2004, Sally Hines wrote:

    > I want to thank everyone for offering me good information on automating the
    > ports update. My real question, though, is how to read and understand
    > manpages. Where is the interpreter? I know I am not the only noob to ever
    > have this problem? I can solve my own problems much better if I can
    > interpret the instructions.
    >
    > Thank you again,
    >
    > Sally Hines

    Finding good documentation can be a really big challenge. I've had success
    with a multi-pronged approach involving many sources. However, for those
    times when manpages are best, I've found that there are certain sections
    that are immediately useful, and they're mostly near the bottom. If
    there's an "examples" section, it's likely to prove relevant to simple
    queries. If you're not sure you're looking at the right page, skip
    straight to the "see also" section to get your bearings. --generally, if I
    don't see see something at the top that seems immediately relevant, I skip
    straight to all the little sections at the bottom before digging into the
    middle. Even a one-liner "history" section has occasionally given me some
    context that I needed. Also, try searching the manpage for words relevent
    to your question (type "/", then a word).

    Different Unix-derived sytems have similar commands, so it might also be
    useful to check out their manpages, if you have access to them.

    Having said all that, often, the right book will save lots of time. I
    figure that when someone has bothered to put a cohesive chapter together
    that covers the subject of your question, that's worth an awful lot. The
    FreeBSD Handbook is the obvious choice for a book (and a good choide, I
    believe). If you like examples (and have non-FreeBSD-specific questions),
    I highly reccomend "Unix Power Tools". Also, "Absolute BSD" provides a
    nice refrain from the often overly-detail-oriented nature of manpages.

    I hope my scatter-brained answer is helpful :-)

                            -Scott Longley

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